Mug Collection

so i don't really know what kind of a blog i want to have, but i've just been so inspired by some of the other blogs i've been following that i know i want to try and keep it up! since nothing totally exciting has happened since the gala (except our trivia team came in first on sunday with a near perfect score of 85!) i thought i would share one of my collections with you. since i am a barista, and i love coffee, it's only fitting that i have a much too large collection of coffee mugs! i have several of them stowed away at my parents' house, and some of them packed away in the attic because our kitchen isn't ideal to display allllll of them. but here are some of my most prized!

my go-to mug these days. this morning it holds my gevalia french roast and hazelnut coffee-mate creamer.

the above mug is from the very talented etsy-ist MaidOfClay, who custom made this true blood mug for me! (i found her through a similar one by her on pinterest that drew me in, btw) i love love it, but i keep it up on my desk because i don't trust anyone and i don't want it to be lost or broken. if you haven't seen true blood, listen to the theme song and you'll understand! the fang marks on the rim are the best part: ) the front says "i wanna do bad things with you."

this mug has sadly been worn out since this photograph. one scary similarity is that this photo was taken the night my two front teeth were chipped and alas, the mug is now chipped. it still sits on my desk because i love it too much to say goodbye.

this is one side of my vintage owl mug that i found at my favorite big rapids thrift store, the wise shopper. i hope nothing bad ever happens to this lil guy!

found this cutie during our stop at minty keen the other day! the year on it says 1956, and it's just adorable. if you're in grand rapids, you must check out this shop: )

i love my south dakota mug. not sure why, i guess because i like that it's kind of etched and not just printed on. makes me want to visit one day, for sure!

 if you haven't been to tim hortons, GO!

self-explanatory!

this tuesday i have work and trivia, or that is the plan. and i've been missing the sun, so hopefully it makes an appearance today. i also have to announce that today is exactly one month until our trip to croatia!!
what have you got goin' on? do you collect anything? watch for owls, mushrooms, and pin-back buttons at some point!

Star Wars Day

i hadn't seen schuyler in a couple of weeks because of car crash busy-ness and other crazy happenings, so luckily she was free to go shopping and catch up with me around downtown grand rapids this beautiful friday afternoon. i met her at her building after being semi-harassed by a scary man on division ave, and she was going for a "diva pocahontas" look. get it, girl!

first we went to the shops at monroe and division, aka modiv, specifically to the new goodwill shop, blue. it is basically like goodwill has sorted through their donations and pulled out the really good stuff and upcharged it slightly for their trouble. fine with me because i do not have patience for thrift store racks!

not used; was afraid this was too 'little girl' but
i bought it anyway. the back is really
neat but i didn't get a photo!

i really like how this looks and it matched
my sandals EXACTLY, but it was just too
thin and see-through for $48. wahhh.

schuyler wore her new dress out!
check out the shops at modiv: )

then we walked over to minty keen because i had never been there before! we tried to go one other time, but the hours are a bit scattered so it's best to try them during the day. the owner, angie, has the neatest shop setup and items for sale and it's certainly a must stop shop downtown. 

pretty banner in the window 

glass and cup collection 

such fun lion art!

poses in front of the curtain of love

wanted to show off my nail polish, but
it's hard to see. it is however,  a
nice minty color!

may the fourth be with you!!! hahahaha i love it.

then we had a little more time to kill before picking up andrew from work, so we stopped at schuler's for a snack. another great local business. (and the coffee is delicious)!

lemon poppy seed!

we then retrieved andrew from worked and stopped at home before grabbing dinner. my dress from kohls that i ordered had arrived, and it fit! yayyyy. here it is:

and then we headed to cinco de mayo! this is what i want to do every friday for the rest of my life. cinco de mayo is a super yummy restaurant downtown that really good nachos supreme (and other food) and great drink specials. i haven't been in a while, but they have a $4 32oz oberon on mondays that they serve in a giant chilled mug. this is a new obsession though - the frozen sangria margarita. perfect for relaxing after a week of work!

sangria margarita?! YES. $5!

love at first sip.

schuyler explaining that the strange ringing noise
was just aliens warning of their takeover of cinco de mayo.

our talented and friendly waiter, george doing the balancing act.

such a fun afternoon! i love the warmer weather even though our house is humid and full of bugs. i also love to explore all the neat places in grand rapids. so much to see: )

fyi, what i wore: 

blue jean jacket - scored at a clothing exchange

tank - urban outfitters

belt - target

shorts - forever 21

sandals - target

ring - h&m